A 130-run onslaught by Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum led New Zealand to victory over the West Indies by 36 runs in their Twenty20 match yesterday.
Man-of-the-match Ryder posted 62 and McCullum 59 in a record Twenty20 stand for New Zealand.
It came at a shade under 12 runs an over and ensured a formidable target as New Zealand reached 191 for nine, despite a meltdown after the opening partnership ended.
PHOTO: AP
When the West Indies looked to their talisman Chris Gayle to save the day — after he had dismissed both Ryder and McCullum — they found his usually dependable batting talents were absent.
He was out for one in the second over and the West Indies never came close to the required run rate, finishing at 155 for seven.
■ BANGLADESH V SRI LANKA
AFP, DHAKA
Mahela Jayawardene smashed a solid 129 not out to put Sri Lanka in a winning position on the third day of the opening Test against Bangladesh yesterday.
The Sri Lankan captain hit one six and 15 fours in his 24th Test hundred to help his side post 291-4 in the second innings at stumps for a massive overall lead of 406.
The tourists were in trouble at 18-2 before Jayawardene bolstered the innings with a 135-run stand for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara (67) and 138 for the next with Thilan Samaraweera (62).
Paceman Mahbubul Alam struck in the eighth over when he trapped Malinda Warnapura (8) leg before wicket and Mashrafe Mortaza bowled Michael Vandort (6) in the next over.
Jayawardene, 31 years old, and left-handed Sangakkara then kept the Bangladeshi attack at bay with their responsible knocks, batting comfortably against both pace and spin.
The Sri Lankan skipper reached his century in the final session when he hit Alam through mid-wicket for a four.
He punished the bowler again, hitting three successive fours in an over.
Bangladesh got just one wicket in the afternoon session when left-arm spinner Mehrab Hossain had Sangakkara caught behind. The Sri Lankan batsman struck eight fours in his 27th Test half-century.
But there was no respite for the hosts as middle-order batsman Samaraweera gave valuable support to his captain before being bowled by Mortaza off the day’s last delivery.
■ AUSTRALIA V S AFRICA
Score at the close on the third day of the second Test in Melbourne:
• Australia 394 & 4-0
• South Africa 459
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to